U11's Manager's Review of the Season

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A few facts and figures plus pen pictures for all the squad members and award winners of the season.

Key Facts
The season was our longest yet at 34 weeks, with more match days than last year. We played 48 matches and would have played at least 8 more if it hadn't been for some incredibly bad weather. 15 went on tour where we saw perhaps the most remarkable weather of all time.
We won 40 per cent of our matches which was down on last year. But when you consider that the ratio of matches where the result was within a single try (won, drawn or lost) was the same as last year, it goes to show what a fine line there is between victory and defeat: in other words many of those we lost could so easily have gone the other way.
We finished the season on a couple of high notes by coming second in our group in the County Cup for the first time and getting through the group stage at St Neots.
First team :
P W D L F A
27 12 2 13 282 272
Development team:
P W D L F A
21 6 3 12 198 262
U11s squad (all matches):
P W D L F A
48 18 5 25 480 534

Pen Pictures for the U11s squad
Ross - we lost Ross towards the end of the season on doctor's orders. In fact his doctor was amazed that he was playing at all which shows his commitment to the team. We hope he will soon be fit again to play with us next season. Turnout 52%; played 12 full + 1 half games
Harry - one of our two with 100 per cent turnout on both training and match days. Great versatility, playing wherever he was asked - as scrum half and full back and most positions in between - and always a safe bet. Turnout 100%; played 35 full + 7 half games; scored 3 tries (12.8 games per try)
Tim - moved into the full back position from match 10 and made it his own; a quality player with a safe pair of hands, an eye for a gap, and a stunning tackle. Turnout 76%; played 23 full + 2 half games.
James D - when it mattered he was there and could be relied on to provide stability in the middle of the field. Turnout 79%; played 27 full + 7 half games
Calum - bags of potential and has played at most positions from forward to wing back during the season as we try to find his special niche. He put in some awesome tackles. Turnout 86%; played 27 full + 8 half games; scored 3 tries (10.3 games per try)
Tom - he's come a long way in his first season and his enthusiasm brings a smile to the faces of those on the touchline. Turnout 79%; played 9 full + 7 half games
Jacob - made the transition from the U10s and survived the shock; but a spate of ankle problems and other injuries have kept him from having the opportunity to fulfil his potential. Turnout 57%; played 4 full + 7 half games
Ellis - goes about his business without fuss and keeps the pack moving forwards; has used his strength to score some archetypal forwards tries. Turnout 83%; played 30 full + 5 half games; scored 6 tries (5.4 games per try)
Lewis - it's easy to forget that he is actually playing up year and shows a self-control and determination that belies this, especially in his tackling. The second of our 100 per cent attendees, the third year running, so Jill and Andy deserve a prize too. Turnout 100%; played 36 full + 6 half games; scored 1 try (39.0 games per try)
Will N - fought his way from the development team into the first team as hooker half-way through the season; is master of the line call system with an inventiveness that confuses the opposition. Turnout 86%; played 27 full + 5 half games; scored 1 try (29.5 games per try)
Guy - came back quickly from his operation early in the season to reclaim his place as a highly useful all round player, frequently filling a gap almost anywhere. Turnout 72%; played 18 full + 5 half games; scored 3 tries (6.8 games per try) and 12 conversions
Chaz - massive improvement this season and as his confidence grew he got more involved and started to talk as much on the field as off it. Turnout 86%; played 12 full + 8 half games
Joe - he's just too nice sometimes; when he's in the 'zone' he's awesome - if only we could work out how best to unlock his aggression every week. Turnout 83%; played 14 full + 13 half games; scored 3 tries (6.8 games per try)
Ruiri - moved from the pack into the outside centre position where he consistently delivers, scoring and setting up tries. Played in the most matches (including every single minute for the first team) and scored the most tries. Turnout 97%; played 40 full + 3 half games; scored 24 tries (1.7 games per try)
Peter - he's learnt the dark arts of the front row and has got a sure right boot, so much so that Alex once asked him to take a conversion when he wasn't on the field - and he duly obliged. Turnout 97%; played 24 full + 11 half games; scored 3 tries (9.8 games per try) and 27 conversions
Dominic - in the first season with kicking out of hand he's become increasingly confident and mixes up his distribution from hand and boot with an interesting variety of kicks. Turnout 93%; played 37 full + 4 half games; scored 2 tries (19.5 games per try) and 16 conversions
Jamie - at the start of the season he thought he was a fullback but we had different plans; he formed a powerful partnership with Lewis. Turnout 83%; played 24 full + 9 half games; scored 3 tries (9.5 games per try)
Beth - her all round play is improving all the time and she is not afraid to put herself in the way of boys much bigger than herself. I trust that refers to the rugby field only! Turnout 86%; played 19 full + 5 half games
Kate - I don't think there is anyone who wants to play and succeed more - her enthusiasm for rugby is unbounded, so much so that she came to support the team at the County's even though she wasn't playing. Turnout 90%; played 10 full + 9 half games
Simon - brave in the tackle and no-one can deny his determination as he turned up to play at the County's less than a week after being ambulanced off and doped up with morphine. Our most frequent scorer, for the second consecutive season he had the lowest ratio of games played per tried scored. Turnout 90%; played 32 full + 4 half games; scored 21 tries (1.6 games per try)
Will T - made a promising start and has great potential - we would like to see more of him next season. Turnout 39%; played 2 full + 2 half games
Brandon - made the transition from Stevenage last season; he's keen and is good with the ball in hand. Turnout 93%; played 15 full + 9 half games; scored 1 try (19.5 games per try)
James W. - he's shown improvement in all parts of his game especially with his running lines and tackling. Turnout 86%; played 23 full + 7 half games

Most improved player of the season: Jamie
For this award the coaches were looking for someone who was on the verges of the first team at the start of the season and went on to not only cement their place in the first team through consistent performance, but also keep pushing to achieve with a positive attitude.

Player of the Season: Ellis
This is the award given the player considered to have made the biggest overall contribution to the success of the team both on and off the pitch, leading by example and being dedicated to the overall squad gameplan.

Coaches' Awards
Choosing the club award winners above was incredibly tough this year as ever. Therefore in addition to these the coaches wished to recognise those who contributed most to the overall success of the squad with their ability, commitment, passion and selflessness to the cause. These were:
- Dominic
- Lewis
- Ruiri
- Simon
- Tim

Player's Player: Simon
This is the one that I think that will increasingly become the most important since at the end of the day it's not the coaches who are on the field but the players and so this award should be instructive about what the players consider to be most important when they go out on pitch and who meets those ideals.
We asked each child to vote for the player who they thought:
• has always tried their hardest;
• been an enthusiastic player;
• encouraged the team; and
• been committed to the squad.
In order to carry out the voting at St Neots we converted Andy's tent into a polling booth (pausing to note gratefully that this time he had brought all of the necessary poles). This was then followed up with an internet poll for those who couldn't be there on the day, using exactly the same question to vote on. The turnout was high (not quite 100 per cent) and unlike Zimbabwe the results were released within the week.
The poll was incredibly close with only a handful scoring at all. However two immediately raced away in the final count with the lead switching from one to the other until the very last votes!

And that brings the 07/08 season reports to a close. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making the season a success - the coaches who supported me throughout, the parents who support us all but especially the children, without whom - well it doesn't need saying. Enjoy the break (which I calculate is roughly 16 weeks which as Beth worked out is 112 days - that's my girl!) and I look forward to seeing you all at the end of the summer (for what will be our final year at Hitchin!!)